Child labor is an issue that all too often gets overlooked in the everyday hustle and bustle of everyday life. Every year, millions upon millions of children are taken out of school and removed from their families and are forced to live and work in unsafe conditions. These children workers often receive little to no pay for their efforts and are denied their basic human rights. While the issue of child labor is one of the largest problems facing our society, it is possible to circumvent the problem by supporting unionization efforts, encouraging fair trade initiatives, and by promoting better standards in trade agreements. The gravity of child labor is so severe because it affects millions of children and even more consumers. According
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Every year, the United States imports billions of dollars in goods that has been in contact with poor working conditions and child labor. Child labor is huge when it comes to goods such as clothing and footwear. Recently, companies such as Nike and various universities have come under fire for producing items that came out of factories where children were the ones sewing the goods (Ending Child Labor, 2014). These goods are bought by millions every single day without a single thought given to the child who worked until their fingers bleed for mere pennies to produce a pair of Nike shoes or an Ohio State hoodie. In fact, wages are so low, at times workers only earn 1% of the retail cost of the items they make, leaving a huge profit margin for the companies (Klainot-Hess, 2014). Child labor is not limited to the clothing industry either. Children are forced to work in coffee, chocolate, and banana plantations to name a few, as well as, various mines around the world. It is hard to believe that the food items that are on your breakfast table in the morning could have endangered the life of a child and that buying such items only promotes and encourages the problem. Furthermore, the minerals that are produced from mines that utilize child labor go into everyday items such as watches, jewelry, and cell phones. The cell phones that most people cannot live without more often than not contain components that are of a not so lustrous origin. This issue is so important for the very reason that consumerism and our appetite for these goods, without as much as a thought to what goes into them, is driving the trend of child labor. Every child that is forced to work is being denied the opportunity to be a child. When they are pushed into the labor world, they are taken away from their families and taken away from the opportunity to earn an education.
Every year, the United States imports billions of dollars in goods that has been in contact with poor working conditions and child labor. Child labor is huge when it comes to goods such as clothing and footwear. Recently, companies such as Nike and various universities have come under fire for producing items that came out of factories where children were the ones sewing the goods (Ending Child Labor, 2014). These goods are bought by millions every single day without a single thought given to the child who worked until their fingers bleed for mere pennies to produce a pair of Nike shoes or an Ohio State hoodie. In fact, wages are so low, at times workers only earn 1% of the retail cost of the items they make, leaving a huge profit margin for the companies (Klainot-Hess, 2014). Child labor is not limited to the clothing industry either. Children are forced to work in coffee, chocolate, and banana plantations to name a few, as well as, various mines around the world. It is hard to believe that the food items that are on your breakfast table in the morning could have endangered the life of a child and that buying such items only promotes and encourages the problem. Furthermore, the minerals that are produced from mines that utilize child labor go into everyday items such as watches, jewelry, and cell phones. The cell phones that most people cannot live without more often than not contain components that are of a not so lustrous origin. This issue is so important for the very reason that consumerism and our appetite for these goods, without as much as a thought to what goes into them, is driving the trend of child labor. Every child that is forced to work is being denied the opportunity to be a child. When they are pushed into the labor world, they are taken away from their families and taken away from the opportunity to earn an education.